Farewell 2006...You Were a Good Year

Ok, so I'm a pessimist. A bona fide "woe is me, the glass is 1/2 empty and there's no hope it will ever be full again, we're all doomed forever" pessimist. And as is often the case with pessimists.....I married an eternal optimist. A "happy-go-lucky, even-keeled, so what if the grass is greener on the other side, I'm enjoying life making mud pies with my kids in our patchy lawn, life is good" optimist.

Last week we were out running errands and I was on a rampage complaining about this, that, and the other when David cheerily broke in and said, "I have an idea! How 'bout for the next hour you only talk about happy things? Just one hour." I sulkily settled into my seat as the minutes ticked by. Finally we began another innocent conversation which ultimately led to me having a less than sunny outlook on our topic. We both looked down at the clock and I'd made it a whopping.....5 minutes!

So, yes, that served as a wake up call to me that perhaps, I could muster up a more positive outlook on my circumstances. Which, I might add, are wonderful. I mean, I wouldn't really blame someone on skid row owning only the clothes on their back, not having eaten a decent meal in months, to complain about some things. But it's people like this who are often times more optimistic and grateful than me. They may be thankful just to find a half eaten sandwich in the trash which makes their whole day.

The other day at supper David suggested I do a "Blessing Blog". (I wasn't even being negative at the time...he just thought it would be neat to recount my blessings as this year draws to a close). A lot of you did this type of thing at Thanksgiving. But I was probably too busy complaining at that time about how much we had to do to get ready for the upcoming holidays.

So, here goes. A tiny fraction of my many blessings received in 2006 (in no particular order of importance):

1. The safe and sound arrival of my son, Tate, this past May. The health and safety of all my kids this past year.
Sure, I grumble & yell when they're running through the house screaming at the top of their lungs. But
sometimes I simply need to stop, scoop them up, and give them a big kiss being thankful they are healthy
enough to act ornery.

2. A loving husband who never lets my negativity bring him down and who loves me in spite of my
aforementioned negative tendencies.

3. I'm grateful we live close to our parents and our kids are able to grow up knowing them and seeing them
throughout the year.

4. Very thankful that our current lifestyle allows me to only have to work 2 days a week. Even though my
entries are many times about the crazy and exhausting day to day experiences with my kids, I wouldn't trade
being home with them for anything in the world. (Not even a bigger house with a jacuzzi tub that I keep
hinting around to David to buy...it will come in time...and one day I'll have all the time in the world to lay in
that tub and relax...and I'll wish that, instead, I was scrubbing marker off the walls.)

5. While I'm on the subject of housing, I am grateful for our house. Sure, we bought it pre-kids and wondered
how we were ever going to fill it up with things, and now, we are busting at the seams. But the girls love
sharing a room together and have already said when we do get a new house, they want to continue to share a
room.

6. We have great church (a large church) but have been able to meet some people there through the Sunday
School class we started going to in August. Reese looks forward to learning her Bible verses each week for
her Cubbies class and has already started asking questions about Heaven. We've taught her that everything
we have really belongs to God . David finally departed with his beloved (pink) hairbrush he's had for ages
and passed it down to the girls. One day he was looking for his hairbrush and found that one, instead, so he
used it. "But Daddy, that's not your hairbrush", Reese pointed out. "I know....I know. I gave it to you," he
replied. "But Daddy, that's not my hairbrush either....it's God's. He's just letting us borrow it."

7. Great friends. I'm not one of those people who has ever had a lot of friends, but I'd rather have a few close
friends, than a lot of acquaintances.

8. My basic needs are met and then some. However, I have been known to begin flinging clothes out of my
closet onto my bed, exclaiming I have nothing! A timeless humorous illustration used to stereotype women,
however, I am thankful that I have so many clothes. And the next time I start to complain about having so
much laundry to do....I will have this post to look back on.

9. Two running cars that we don't have to pray will make it to our destination each time.

10. A merciful and forgiving God who continues to bestow upon me all these blessings I don't deserve, and don't
say "Thank you" enough for, because He loves me.

I stopped with "10" just because that's a nice even number, when in fact, my blessings this past year are limitless. May your New Year be filled with blessings and may you stop and take time to thank the One they come from...